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Ink Coverage Calculator

Work out ink coverage instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Ink Coverage Calculator

Ink per page is the sheet area times the coverage fraction times the ink laydown rate at full coverage, so pages per cartridge is the cartridge volume over that figure. Coverage can exceed 100% when several inks overlap, which is why a rich black photo page can drain a cartridge in a fraction of its rated life.

Formulas

Ink per page

ml = sheet area m2 x coverage fraction x ml per m2 at full coverage

Cartridge yield

pages = cartridge volume / ink per page

Worked example

With the default values below, Ink Coverage Calculator returns Ink used per page of 0.02339. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Ink coverage on the pageaccepts 0.1–400 %
15 %
Sheet areaminimum 0 m2
0.06237 m2
Ink used at full coverageminimum 0.01 ml/m2
2.5 ml/m2
Cartridge volumeminimum 0.1 ml
30 ml

Results

Ink used per page
0.02339 ml
Pages from one cartridge
1,283
Ink per page in microlitres
23.39 ul
Effective inked area per page
0.00936 m2

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Ink per page
  3. 3Cartridge yield
  4. 4Ink used per page= 0.02339 ml
  5. 5Pages from one cartridge= 1,283
  6. 6Ink per page in microlitres= 23.39 ul
  7. 7Effective inked area per page= 0.00936 m2

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 5 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Ink Coverage figure worked out?

ml = sheet area m2 x coverage fraction x ml per m2 at full coverage. Ink per page is the sheet area times the coverage fraction times the ink laydown rate at full coverage, so pages per cartridge is the cartridge volume over that figure.

Why does this matter?

Coverage can exceed 100% when several inks overlap, which is why a rich black photo page can drain a cartridge in a fraction of its rated life.

What do I need to enter?

Enter ink coverage on the page, sheet area, ink used at full coverage, cartridge volume. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.

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Ink Coverage Calculator – Calculate Ink used per page